Search Weight Loss Topics:




Feb 24

How Sleep Affects Your Testosterone Levels, According to Doctors – Men’s Health

Testosterone Comments Off on How Sleep Affects Your Testosterone Levels, According to Doctors – Men’s Health

LIKE MOST PEOPLE, you probably dont get enough sleep. You might constantly wake up groggy or struggle to get through the day without a nap. This constant lack of rest could cause a number of health consequences, including lowering your testosterone levels.

Testosterone is the male sex hormone needed to help regulate many different processes in the body, including libido, bone and muscle mass, erectile functioning, and red blood cell production, says John Lynam, D.O., an American Osteopathic Association board-certified urologist.

Many factors can affect your testosterone levels, especially age and weight, Dr. Lynam says. When your testosterone is too low, you can experience a range of symptoms, including fatigue, depressed mood, erectile dysfunction, and reduced muscle mass.

Sleep affects testosterone, too. Not getting enough might decrease testosterone levels, but its likely not the only cause of that drop in T. A lack of sleep can also worsen other health conditions that might affect testosterone.

Sleep disorders including a decrease in sleep quality, inadequate sleep duration, disruption of circadian rhythm, and sleep breathing disorders such as sleep apnea can all negatively affect the testosterone production cycle and result in decreased testosterone production, and consequently decreased blood testosterone levels, Dr. Lynam says.

Its recommended that adults get at least seven hours of sleep a night. Along with lowering testosterone levels, a lack of sleep can increase your risk for obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and mental health conditions.

Heres a look at the relationship between a lack of sleep and testosterone levels, and how to get a better nights rest to improve your health.

Testosterone levels increase while you sleep and are closely linked to your circadian rhythm, which is the natural process that regulates your sleep-wake cycle.

Research suggests that, in healthy men, testosterone levels rise with the onset of sleep and reach a peak at the first REM sleep episode, explains Darshan Patel, M.D., assistant professor of urology at the University of California San Diegos Mens Health Center.

REM, or rapid eye movement, is the sleep stage associated with dreaming and the consolidation of memories, according to the Sleep Foundation.

For people with traditional sleep patterns, peak testosterone levels occur between 3 a.m. and 8 a.m., Dr. Patel says.

Your testosterone levels are highest in the morning, says Justin Dubin, M.D., a urologist and mens health specialist at Memorial Healthcare System. When we tell people to get their testosterone levels drawn, we want to get the highest levelsusually before 10 a.m.

When you dont get enough sleep, it can affect your circadian rhythm and potentially lower your testosterone levels, he explains.

Maintaining normal testosterone levels requires at least three hours of good sleep each night, Dr. Lynam says.

But you need at least seven hours a night to get the rest your body needs to stay healthy. A small study of 10 healthy young men found that getting just five hours of sleep a night for a week lowered their testosterone levels by 10 to 15 percent.

Another study showed that non-standard shift workers, who work outside the 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. timeframe, were more likely to have lower testosterone levels and worsened symptoms of testosterone deficiency, or hypogonadism.

Sleep and testosterone have a cyclical relationship. While lack of sleep affects testosterone production, research shows that low testosterone can affect sleep quality. Testosterone replacement therapy can help, but if your levels get too high, your sleep duration will suffer.

Thats why its always important to work with your doctor on treatment for testosterone deficiency.

Age and obesity are two main factors that lower your testosterone. And, they also affect your sleep, which can impact testosterone levels.

Your total testosterone naturally drops between 1 percent and 2 percent a year as you age. Sleep patterns also shift with age. Older people report finding it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep, as well as waking up during the night and sleeping less.

Obesity is linked to insomnia and sleep apnea, which are also associated with lower testosterone. Chronic sleep loss can create a hormonal imbalance in the body that can lead to weight gain.

Getting a good nights sleep can help keep your testosterone levels in balance, lower your risk for several chronic conditions, and just make you feel better throughout the day. Here are some ways to improve your sleep, according to the Mayo Clinic:

Erica Sweeney is a writer who mostly covers health, wellness and careers. She has written for The New York Times, HuffPost, Teen Vogue, Parade, Money, Business Insider and many more.

Read more from the original source:
How Sleep Affects Your Testosterone Levels, According to Doctors - Men's Health

Related Posts

    Your Full Name

    Your Email

    Your Phone Number

    Select your age (30+ only)

    Select Your US State

    Program Choice

    Confirm over 30 years old

    Yes

    Confirm that you resident in USA

    Yes

    This is a Serious Inquiry

    Yes

    Message:



    matomo tracker